HumidCity

(This is a guest post by Steve O’Keefe. I have the pleasure of working for Steve as a contract blogger and used to share the Bywater office he mentions below. I share his shock, his outrage, and most importantly his desire for answers to the following questions. -Loki, HumidCity Founder)

This morning I walked past the home of Jessica L. Hawk whose lifeless body was discovered by police at 9:40 Monday morning, August 11, 2008.

Jessica lived halway between my home by the Sound Cafe and my former office by the satellite dishes on Chartres. She lived two doors away from Dr. Bob, who police questioned Monday morning, and who I spoke with this morning after visiting the stoop at 3013 Chartres to pay my respects to the woman who sold flowers from Harold’s up on Saint Claude.

Jessica Hawk was murdered. Stabbed multiple times. Dr. Bob visited the crime scene with detectives before her body was removed. He said her naked body was propped-up. Since he is sharing this news with neighbors, it is no longer the private knowledge of detectives.

This is our murder investigation. We are entitled to know the facts of what happened, as police are able to reveal them.

Have the police asked NOCCA for surveillance video? They are located right down the street and usually have a night guard. Did the guard at NOCCA see anything? How about the drivers who pick up produce at AJ’s on Chartres in the early hours of the morning — every day? Do they have video tape? Did they see anything? Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday is it! A huge date on the calendar during which Rising Tide, Dirty Cost Press and the Big Easy Rollergirls Present:

FYYFF It’s Black and Gold Forever
A Fund-raiser for the Ashley Morris Memorial Foundation

Featuring:
The Big Easy Roller Girls, The Other Planets , Simon Lott, Helen Gillet, Justin Peake , Diamond Kinkade, Fleur de Tease “Nude Is Nice” performance, Supa Saint, Art for sale/auction/raffle by NOLA Rising, T Shirts and gear from Defend New Orleans and illustrious services of emcee Andrew Ward - The Reverend Pysch Ward, who was last seen at O’Dark Thirty in the morning kicking off the NOLA Running of the Bulls.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

You see the fine folks at NOLA Rising have agreed to re-purpose their art party earlier in the day into creating fresh art for the evening to help raise funds. Come by, grab a paintbrush and join in the fun. Ashley Morris loved this city and its community more than words can express. Come and BE a part of that community.

When? Saturday, July 26th, from noon until sunset. Yep, the dog days of summer. No one said living in New Orleans during the summer is nice.

Where? XO Studios in the Marigny. 2833 Dauphine at the corner of Press (right where the train tracks are)

Why? Why not? We love our community, we love to paint, we love to be a part of something that is uniquely New Orleans. You don’t have to be an artist to come and join us. In fact, most of the best talents we’ve discovered had never even picked up a brush in their entire life.

(Proceeds from the raffle and the auction as well as the T-Shirts will be donated by the Morris family to the Ashley Morris Memorial Foundation which will be used to present FYYFF Awards at later dates.)

Please share this message through your MySpace Bulletins, email lists, and blogs. Be part of the community!

Hello citizens of Humid City,

Louis Maistros here, of the Marigny neighborhood. Some of you might know me as the former proprietor of Louie’s Juke Joint record shop/Vodou botanica on Decatur Street. If you’re a musician there’s a chance you bought cheap guitar strings from me at some point. Or maybe my wife Elly set you up with a big chunk of High John the Conqueror root.

I’ve been asked by the esteemed Mr. Loki to join the Humid City blogging team. So here I am, rip-roaring to go.

Just a few things, so y’all know what to expect.

Much of what I’ll post here will be cross-posted from my own blog, which is called These Things May Not Be Right, But They Are True. My mode of perpsective there tends to be from New Orleans to the outside world, so for the locals it may seem a tad over-explainy at times regarding certain things that we all know too well. So bear with me on that sort of thing, if you please. From time to time I will post things just for HC, and those will be geared more towards the locals with all the usual clubhouse slogans and secret handshakes.

My grand mission is to inspire peace and harmony through information and profanity. If bad words threaten your sunny disposition, please feel free to shield your eyes from the screen when you see my name appear. It won’t hurt my feelings because I won’t even know you’re doing it.

My personal situation is, briefly: husband of one and father of two, self-employed with the Juke Joint thing online now (my day job), homeschooler of the kids with the help of my lovely bride Elly (who spends most of her time doing animal rescue work around town), and I’m also a writer with a New Orleans novel called “The Sound of Building Coffins” due out from the Toby Press in March of 2009.

A few links of interest if you want to know more:

The blog: These things may not be right, but they are true

The store: Louie’s Juke Joint on Ebay and the Juke Joint website

Social network stuff: you can find me on Myspace and Facebook

We also have a resource page for New Orleans homeschoolers here: neworleanshomeschool.org

I think that about covers it.

I hope I don’t disappoint, and am happy to be here.

later,
Louie

ST. CLAUDE ARTS DISTRICT EVENTS SATURDAY JUNE 14TH

4108 St. Claude Ave • (504) 324-2489 • http://www.lartnoir.com

Sensory Overload: A Group Show featuring Angie, Eric Lee Buchanan, Ciglio, Michael Dingler, Robin Durand, “Malakai” Rob Edwards, Caesar Meadows, Michael Fedor, Daniel Finnigan, Andrea Garland, Joy Gauss, Claudia “Mardi Claw” Gherke, Allison Gordin, Master Jeffrey Holmes, Raymond, “Moose” Jackson, Herbert Kearney, Alexis Linde, Epi Lopez , Maggie Mae, Marrus, Sontina Reid-Hall, Corey Sanders, Sam Sanders, Taylor Lee Shepherd, Allison Termine, Jonathan Traviesa, Joshua Walsh, Jack Wittenbrink and others

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th, 5-10pm

2331 St. Claude Ave • (504) 525-2767 / 710-4506 • http://www.barristersgallery.com

SuperNova II: A Group Show of New Orleans Artists Curated by Jayne McLellan, Director of Civilian Arts, Washington, DC

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th, 6-9pm, Show runs thru July 5

Featuring Stephen Collier, Tim Best, Jeff Reinhardt and Natalie Sciorntino, Seth Boonchai, Maxx Seizler, Sally Heller, Monica Zeringue, Elizabeth Underwood, John Greco, Cynthia Scott, Mimi Moncier, Robert Lansden

NOVA Projects Mission: NOVA Projects seeks to introduce outstanding New Orleans Visual Artists to the public through an online registry and exhibitions. Artists for the registry are selected by national and internationally recognized curators who select from applicants to our semi-annual public exhibitions in New Orleans.

1128 St. Roch Ave • (917) 584-9867 • http://www.homespacegallery.com

“This Would Be Nice If It Were True”: John Fields and Valerie Corradetti

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th, 2008, 6 PM to 8 PM

…Because the melancholy old-school Cylon in one of the pieces is too hard to resist.

2833 Dauphine Street (Corner of Press on the Tracks) • (504) 949-8134

Something Old, Something New Orleans.

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th, 6-10 pm

Exciting new work by Amie Davis, Eric Buchanan, Paulie Lingerfelt and Joy Gauss, plus the usual suspects! 10 rooms …10 local artists! Photography, painting, Raku Pottery!

Read the rest of this entry »

Progressive Medical Care, or PMC, has just opened in the Marigny. As one of those who helped build it, I must say it’s rather nice.

PMC was concieved and opened by Dr. Frederick Floyd, Bywater resident, and owner of the Rookery Recording Studio, also in the Bywater.

Like myself, many residents in the Art-Rich neighborhoods of the Marigny/Bywater/Lower Nine have little or no access to medical care without a trip to a hospital waiting room in the CBD or Metairie. Many certainly operate with limited or no health insurance.

The PMC works with Medicaid, Medicare, most forms of independent health care, and has a pay-as-you-go system for those without any form of insurance.

A fully equiped clinic, they perform echo-cardigrams and sonograms in house, have handicapped access, and take walk-ins as well as appointments. They’re also eqipped to deal with many immune deficiency health issues that other clinics do not address.

Progressive Medical Care is located at 2909 St. Claude Ave, at Press Street. Hours of operation are 8:30am until about 4pm, Monday through Friday. For appointments call: 504 942-1167

Tell ‘em HumidCity sent ya.

And thanks, Dr. Fred.
Thanks very much.

Lord David
Pirate & Artist
Skull Club
New Orleans

Those of you who read my last column may have noticed I’m enthusiastic about local food & cooking styles. That’s an understatement of huge proportions, to say the least.

Anyway, Food News is Good News, or something like that. So here we go…

Some of you may already know this, but the New Orleans Food Co-operative is slated to open a physical store, like as in a Grocery Store, right here in the ‘hood, at the old Universal Furniture building, which also houses the new 5th District Police Station, at the corner of St. Claude & St. Roch, right here in the Marigny.

Those of us who live in this neighborhood know that since the grocery at Elysian Fields and St. Claude has still not reopened, serious shopping means a trip to the Lake Front, Uptown or Mid-City. This news is huge for us.

These plans also include a ‘Wellness Center’ featuring such things as yoga classes and other healthy pass times. You can get more information’ become a member, make donations, volunteer, or get listings for their pot luck meetings, by going to their website:nolafoodcoop.org

Positive change and new development in New Orleans are a beautiful thing, especially when it makes us dinner.

Support Local Growth!

Lord David

Skull Club

New Orleans

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

It is time for our elected officials to face up to the violence that is strangling our neighborhoods.

Come march with us to City Hall to demand action Thursday, January 11

Marigny-Bywater residents and ALL concerned New Orleanians, please come to a planning meeting this Sunday, January 7 at 1pm at Sound Cafe (2700 Chartres St.)

More info: 504-948-0917

Do NOT forget Helen Hill!

it appears the the local media (TV and TP as well as Gambit) is busy reporting stories about business as unusual in the Big Easy (crime, corruption, and frustration). Readers are growing tired of false expectations and bad promises. Readers have grown weary and bleary-eyed of the focus on the BAD NEWS of bad, bad New Orleans. Shouldn’t we try to see something positive? Wouldn’t we be more likely to get people to return? Wouldn’t we be more likely to get businesses to stay? Wouldn’t we be more likely to convince other states to help? You know… it’s the old flies and honey cha cha cha… Vigilantes and murders may sell papers, but they’re not going to help the economy. I know there is good news out there, I beg you to shout it from the top of monkey hill… we need it. We need it desperately. We need it now. No shots need to be fired. No crimes have to be committed. But, is that such a bad thing? BLOG THIS!